This week hasn't been as enjoyable to me. Didn't like the writing as much for the whole reveal. The aftermath has been much better.
However, Friday's episode was great for Mother's Day. I LOVED that Kyle is NOT happy with Nikki and called her out. Nick/Sharon actually work well together, and I can see them having a Nikki/Victor open type relationship down the road.
Enjoyed the scenes with Dina. But I have to say again, the Nikki/Kyle scenes really sold me today. The actor did a good job
To be honest, it was WTF but I don't think Daniel Goddard had the depth to sell it well. A stronger actor would have made it work. Man do I miss Thad Luckinbill.

Playing catch up again:
I enjoy Hillary/Phyllis. I like that Phyllis has her back. MM/GT have great chemistry.
I'm slowly warming up to millennial Kyle.
Although I'm still disappointed with JT being "killed off," I'm enjoying the soapy element of Phyllis/Nikki/Victoria/Sharon.
The Victor/Neil scenes were surprisingly well done and poignant. First time I enjoyed Neil since his return.
Lily/Cane continue to be boring. They are totally Paul/Christine 2.0. Sanctimonious together, but MILES BETTER apart.
Maddie/Reed goodbye was sweet. I liked the actor, sorry to see him go. I liked his reaction to Sharon too.
Dina mentioning all her friends are gone hit hard.
The Nikki/Victor scenes were EXCELLENT. It shows so much maturity in there relationship. Some people may scoff at the open arrangement, but at the time I think it made sense. I hope Arturo doesn't turn out to be a bad guy. He's handsome and a breath of fresh air. Nikki's probably good for a long time after having a piece of Arturo, hence why she probably agreed to go back to Victor lol
Overall, the show is a solid B for me.

This past week:
Eric Braeden has been killing it. I'm surprised. He really is putting an amazing effort into this story. The scene with Nick/Victor was wow...
For once the Newman family is rocking it on the acting aces all around. That Victoria/Paul scene, and mentioning April was another well done scene, without beating you over the head with a history lesson. I also liked the Jack/Victor/Nick/Nikki/Arturo scenes. I also love that Nikki is still doing her thing.
I REALLY hate Lily. She is the new Christine.
Although I didn't like the "kill JT" changes. The ramifications thus far have been pretty well executed.
Why is that surprising? Jack slept with his father's wife and was forgiven.
Selective amnesia on this board
Yes, the young actors are not going to stay for long, and I don't quite blame them. I liked Reed, but now the sudden "love" for Reed is annoying. Same thing happened with the original Adam and Heather Williams.
As for the "old and restless," people are still calling for older actors to come back, and if you look at primetime the shows that are thriving tend to be those with older actors. The younger set will take over when summer comes around

Victor locked a man in a cage decades ago, this show has been farfetched for a long time lol
Great scenes today by all involved. I am really going to miss Thad. When he first returned I had little interest. But he breathed such life into the character. I can see why some people felt it was a bit PSA. I had similar feelings too. Given how some on this board couldn't see JT's emotional abuse, I can understand why the show had to spell it out. Overall, I did think Victor's Hitchhock fall episode was better though. I also like the "next week on Y&R," that's a nice touch.

Playing catch up:
Man JT Hawaii is awesome, I can't blame him for going there. But JT damn he's so pathetic. Thad has been phenomenal in his return. I wish him ALL THE BEST in his future career. He put all the other leading man to shame.
I enjoyed the Girls Night Out. Lame that Mariah couldn't just say she was bisexual though. Amelia Heinle rocked her scenes today.
I'm warming up to Kyle.
Of course Victor has to have a younger woman too. Blah. Didn't care for any of that or Paul's giddiness.

I thought the writing and acting was pretty stilted in that Katherine scene, but it was amusing just the same. It actually reminded me of one of those outdoor GL scenes in the later years. Good point on the Mackenzie oversight! It didn't take me out of the scene, but it would have been much appreciated to have her there.
I don't blame you. I watch the show, come here and immediately it's a wave of depression lol. Reminds me of Toronto sports fan. Fanbase tends to be the team's own worst enemy at times lol
I definitely agree with much of what you said.
And how great were those scenes with Sharon/Victoria today? Sharon Case has been rocking!
See, this is just uncalled for. We cannot call out others for the constant complaining about the show, but by all means everyone else is ready with daggers to tell us how wrong we are. At the end of the day, Y&R is a business. Mal takes his orders from upstairs and has to adjust accordingly for ratings. It's not like a decade or 2 ago.
I think we all have high standards and want to see the show do well. However, Y&R has changed a lot over it's tenure (some good times, some bad times). I'm thankful we have long-time vets LEADING stories, and doing a great job. Things feel fresh. I'm not excited by all the changes, but for the most part the show has been good. The constant wave of negativity and looking for minute things to complain about gets tiresome (just as I'm sure some find my defending it tiresome lol).
Can you imagine having friends who were critical all the time? I'd quickly move on. It becomes just as stale, boring and repetitive as the cheerleading. It all becomes too toxic when you take an extreme on either side (just like the state of affairs in the USA). There are too many things to complain about, I look at Y&R for a bit of escape. I'm not looking for doppelgängers. I'm looking for good acting and at least decent writing.

Let's be real. Some of you won't care about the show unless you are writing it lol
I'll see how this all plays out. I'm a tad bit disappointed. But the tone in this thread is off-putting. Everyone wants to see the show fail for some reason, and can't wait for the moment to say "I told you so." Blah, just as bad as what we've seen onscreen.